Mojito History

The mojito (mo-HEE-toe) is a quintessential Cuban cocktail. The name derives from the African voodoo term mojo, to cast a small spell. According to Bacardi Rum, the drink can be traced to 1586, when Sir Francis Drake and his pirates unsuccessfully attempted to sack Havana for its gold. His associate, Richard Drake, was said to have invented a mojito-like cocktail known as El Draque that was made with aguardiente, a crude forerunner of rum, sugar, lime and mint. Around the mid-1800s, when the Bacardi Company was established, rum was substituted and the cocktail became known as a Mojito.

Mojito Recipe

Here’s the authentic recipe from La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana. It makes one cocktail:

Ingredients

2 ounces white rum

2 ounces club soda

1 teaspoon powdered sugar or simple syrup*

Juice from 1 lime (2 ounces)

4 mint leaves

1 sprig of mint for garnish

Crushed ice

Preparation

Place the mint leaves into collins (highball) glass and squeeze the juice from a cut lime into it (a single lime may provide more than 2 ounces).

Add the powdered sugar, then gently smash (muddle) the mint into the lime juice and sugar with a muddler (a long stainless steel device pictured below, though you can also use the back of a fork or spoon).

Add the ice, then add the rum and stir; top off with the club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig.

†Simple Syrup Recipe

While powdered sugar is the original ingredient, it is no longer used in most situations because simple syrup dissolves more readily in a cold beverage. You can make simple syrup easily and keep it on hand:

Using the proportion of 2 parts sugar to three parts water, fill a bottle almost halfway with sugar; add hot water.